Fitchburg city councilors vote Tuesday to add 11th member

City Councilor Joel Kaddy: "No matter who we pick, we're going to hear about it."

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FITCHBURG -- As city councilors prepare to vote Tuesday to fill the empty councilor-at-large seat, they're bracing themselves for backlash.

While some councilors see government experience as a priority, others see the benefit of appointing an outsider, and a few wish they didn't have to make the decision at all.

They know that no matter who they choose, the decision will be unpopular with someone.

"No matter who we pick, we're going to hear about it," said Councilor Joel Kaddy. "Unfortunately, we have to vote. It would be nice if we could go to a general election, but that would cost a ton of money."

All applicants are "qualified people who genuinely care about the city," said Council President Michael Kushmerek.

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Councilors Dean Tran, Jody Joseph, Angelo Bisol and Paul Beauchemin could not be reached for comment, but the six other councilors said they're fairly sure who has their vote.

Despite this, Kaddy was adamant that the council has not collectively chosen anyone yet.

"It's been said that it's a done deal, that it was decided behind the scenes," said Kaddy. "I don't think that's true. I wasn't a part of it."

Only one councilor, Jeff Bean, was willing to name his choice: Donnelly, who was the top vote-getter last fall among those not elected.

"I believe he best fits the person for the position, at this point," Bean said. "We need somebody that has the experience, the know-how, and somebody who has run (for council) before is a good way to start."

He added that Donnelly "got a few thousand votes."

"He just barely missed (being elected)," Bean said.

Council Vice President Amy Green didn't say who she was planning to vote for, but said she liked that Donnelly ran for the seat in the fall.

"Experience is the most important thing to me for this appointment," said Green. "I want the experience for the next councilor to hit the ground running, because we'll be a month out from budget season.

Councilor Jeffrey Bean supports Tom Donnelly to replace state Rep. Stephan Hay on the City Council.

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DiNatale disagreed, saying he doesn't think the council needs to choose someone who would be able to pick up right where Hay left off.

"I don't like looking at it that way, only because we all started somewhere," DiNatale said.

DiNatale said he "kept an open mind" when approaching applicants, and decided based on their "qualifications and contributions to the city."

Kushmerek said he weighed a need for "a fresh perspective" with a need for someone who is familiar with city government. So did Councilor Dave Clark, who said it's important to think about diversity on the council.

Green suggested that perhaps it shouldn't even be the councilors' decision.

Councilor Vice President Amy Green said experience is "the most important thing in this appointment."

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

"If our charter were different, the next-highest vote-getter from November would step in to finish out the term," she said.

Green said she would support a change to the city charter that would automatically give an open seat to the person who received the next-highest number of votes in November.

Kushmerek was more cautious, saying it's important "to make sure we're not being too reactive (to this situation)."

"We wouldn't want to overreact and change the charter just based on one incident," he said.

Bean and Clark weren't opposed to a charter change, but both commented on how difficult it is to change the charter.

"It's nearly impossible," said Clark. Bean added that he didn't anticipate a charter commission being formed just based on one issue.

Even if the process were easier, DiNatale and Kaddy said they would be opposed to such a change in Fitchburg.

"I know other cities do that, and I think it's not a bad idea," said DiNatale, "but for our purposes, this (type of appointment) is such a rarity, and it really depends on the council and depends on the election candidates. It's very subjective."

He added that he would be concerned, if the charter were changed, about a situation in which the next highest vote-getter no longer wanted the position. Kaddy had similar concerns.

"A change to the charter would let us off the hook, and take the pressure off, but I disagree with that idea," Kaddy said. "I don't like this, but we've got to step up."

Kaddy said he has been monitoring Facebook in addition to fielding calls and emails from residents, because he wants to take their opinions into consideration.

"You've got to weigh it all," he explained.

Kushmerek has heard constituent support for several different candidates, while Bean and Green said they've heard support for one candidate in particular.

They said they have taken constituents' calls and emails into consideration, but will not vote solely based on this input.

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